Utah at UC Irvine

When: Tonight, 7

Where: Bren Events Center

Breakdown: The UC Irvine men’s basketball team (2-9) plays its last game of 2008 hoping to post its first home victory of the season and the first since March 6, 2008, when it faces the 6-5 Utes ... Dating back to a regular-season-ending setback against Cal State Fullerton last season, UCI has lost four straight home games. It’s the longest home losing streak for the Anteaters since they dropped six straight in the 1998-99 campaign ... UCI opened 11-0 at the Bren Center last season, before the aforementioned setback against Cal State Fullerton ... Freshman Eric Wise (11.6 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per contest) and senior Kevin Bland (11.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg) pace UCI, which is coming off a 64-51 win over Norfolk State, Dec. 22 in a tournament at Missouri State ... Utah is coming off a 66-64 loss at Utah State on Dec. 22 ... Utah is led by 7-foot-2 senior center Luke Neville (17.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg), who is shooting 62.2% from the field ... Senior guard Lawrence Borha posted a career-high 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the Utes’ 78-66 home win over UCI last season ... Utah sophomore Shaun Green (two seasons ago) and UCI’s Wise (last season) were back-to-back Riverside County Players of the Year at Martin Luther King High.

— Barry Faulkner